


what they call you

by imposterhuman



Series: pepperony week 2019 [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Names, Pepper Potts Feels, Pepperony - Freeform, Pepperony Week, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-29 23:16:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20090425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: five times tony calls pepper "miss potts" and one time he calls her "mrs. stark"





	what they call you

**Author's Note:**

> for pepperony week day 1: 5+1
> 
> enjoy!

**1.**

Tony was very much not expecting Virginia Potts to barge into his office. He was trying to sleep, actually, having stayed up the night before to finish a design for Obie, and the interruption wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“I don’t know who you are and I don’t particularly care,” Tony said, not lifting his head from where it was cushioned on his arms. “Get out and come back in a few hours when I’m actually awake.”

“No, I don’t think I will,” the woman said sternly. “You’re going to listen to me now.”

Tony raised his head and shot her an unimpressed look. “I don’t respond well to orders,” he said idly. “Give me one good reason that I shouldn’t call security right now.”

“Besides the fact that I pepper-sprayed them?” the redhead said sweetly. “Maybe because I’m about to save you several million dollars.”

She held out a sheaf of papers. “I don’t like being handed things,” he said.

“Fine by me,” she threw the stack on his desk like a challenge. “Your math is wrong.”

“No, it isn’t,” Tony said instantly. He flicked through the papers, scanning them quickly. He saw the errors, helpfully underlined in red, quickly. It wasn’t  _ his  _ math, but it was something that either Obie or him should have caught far earlier. “Holy shit, it is. Who did you say you were again?”

“Virginia Potts,” she answered. “From Accounting.”

“Well, Miss Potts,” Tony grinned wide, observing her. She would do nicely, and he wasn’t just saying that because her finger was still on her pepper spray. “How would you feel about a promotion to my PA?”

**2.**

“How attached are you to your name?” asked Tony as soon as Virginia walked through the door.

She arched an eyebrow. “Fairly attached,” she replied. “Why?”

“Like, on a scale of one to ten, how amenable are you to nicknames?” Tony said, spinning his chair in circles like a child. 

“That’s not quite professional, Mr. Stark,” Virginia said, stopping his spinning with one delicate hand. She put a stack of paper on his desk. “Sign these.”

He eyed her. Her other hand was inching towards her handbag. “Are you going to pepper spray me if I don’t?” he said suspiciously.

“Will you sign the papers if I say yes?” 

Tony raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, Pepper,” he grinned. “You win. I’ll sign the papers.”

“That’s not my name,” she objected immediately. “My name is Virginia.”

“As you’re not an eighty year old crone, I can’t call you that,” Tony smirked, signing the pages with a flourish. “It’d be a crime against humanity, or something.”

“It’s my grandmother’s name,” Virginia admitted, blushing. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Hmm,” he tapped his chin in thought. “Ginny? Nah, too  _ Harry Potter _ . I think Pepper’s your best bet here.”

She glared at him. “No,” she repeated.

“I’ll wear you down, Miss Potts,” he conceded and handed her her signed papers back. “You just wait.”

**3.**

Pepper tapped her foot while trying to make it look like she wasn’t stressed. Tony, as usual, was late for his appearance at the Maria Stark Gala. He called it fashionable, but she just called it irritating. It meant that she was stuck fielding questions from investors and guests that she didn’t know how to answer.

At least she knew that he wasn’t going to stumble in drunk; nights like those were the worst. But Tony didn’t drink on December sixteenth, not in all the years she’d known him. He just locked himself in his lab and came out for the shortest of appearances at his mother’s memorial gala.

(Pepper couldn’t exactly blame him. If it were her, she’d lock herself away, too.)

At half-past nine, an hour after the start of the gala, Tony showed up, dressed to the nines and oozing charm. Pepper could see the smudges under his eyes, makeup barely covering the shadows. His smile was empty and his gaze unfocused as he chatted up investors. 

She made her way over to him, pushing through crowds of schmoozing socialites without stopping to entertain them. 

“Tony,” she greeted warmly when she got within earshot. She didn’t reprimand him for his lateness like she usually would; she could tell that this anniversary, for some reason, was a bad one.

“Pep,” Tony turned away from the woman in the almost indecently cut dress to look at her. She knew him well enough to see the sadness choking him, even if he liked to pretend it wasn’t there. “Sorry I’m late. Lab time, you know how I get.”

“I do,” she said fondly. She stepped into his bubble, filling the space of the woman who had fled with a huff. She grabbed his hand lightly, light enough that he could pull away if he wanted. Instead, he leaned into the touch. She frowned. “How long has it been since you slept?”

Tony blinked, confused at the random question. “Awhile,” he admitted. “I had… deadlines?”

“No, you didn’t,” said Pepper. She had cleared his schedule for the week. “Tony, are you okay?”

She could have slapped herself for asking. Tony hated that question more than any other. 

“Always,” he said, separating them. “Now, I have to make the rounds so I can go back to the engines calling my name. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Pepper nodded, throat tight. “Get some rest,” she called after his retreating back. 

Tony smiled over his shoulder at her. It was painfully fake. “I will, Miss Potts, don’t worry about me.”

“Oh, Tony,” she breathed sadly, watching her friend disappear into the crowd. “I always worry.”

**4.**

“Hey, Pep,” Tony leaned down to greet his partner with a kiss. She leaned into it, letting her attention wander away from her stacks of paperwork. They lost themselves in the kiss for a few minutes until Tony drew away, smiling. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”

“I just missed you,” Pepper admitted, somewhat shyly. “You’ve been away on your mission all week.”

“Missed you, too,” he kissed her cheek in a move so domestic that Pepper’s heart swelled. “What are you up to?”

She groaned. “Trying not to kill the Board,” she answered, exasperated. “They’re being idiots, as usual.”

“We can fire all of them and replace them,” Tony offered. “It’s not like we actually like them.”

“Tempting,” said Pepper. “Very tempting. But I think I’d rather just threaten them. It’s easier, you know?”

He laughed. “If you need a repulsor, I’ll gladly give you one,” he said. “But I think your heels are lethal enough weapons as is.”

“If we’re at the point where I have to shoot the Board, something has gone very wrong,” she said dryly. She glared at the pile of paperwork in front of her. “Then again…”

“Please don’t go supervillain on our Board of Directors,” Tony said quickly. “While I would find it hot, I doubt anyone else would. SI stocks would go down and then we’d both be sad.”

“Then I’d better get this done,” she huffed tiredly.

“I’ve got to head to the lab anyway. The suit needs some repairs,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Are you coming up for dinner? I’ll cook.”

“I’ll be there,” she promised. She shuffled her papers into a neat stack, handing a couple to Tony for him to sign later. “Now, will that be all, Mr. Stark?”

His eyes glimmered with amusement as he leaned down to kiss her goodbye. “That will be all, Miss Potts.”

**5.**

Tony was uncharacteristically nervous, Pepper noticed. His leg was bouncing, hands tapping at the table where they had just finished dinner. 

“I’ll do the dishes if you put away the leftovers,” she offered, trying to get him out of his head. Whenever he started fidgeting like that, it was a sign of how bad his anxiety was getting.

He smiled gratefully. “Deal.”

They worked in silence, Tony passing her dishes when he finished putting the pasta in the fridge. It was domestic and sweet and Pepper wished she could have lived in the simplicity of that moment forever. But Tony was still twitching, and she was determined to figure out why.

“Tony,” she leveled him with a look. “What’s on your mind?”

He took a deep breath. “I had a question for you,” he started.

“No, you can’t put roller skates on your suit,” she said immediately. “That’s a horrible idea.”

Tony laughed weakly. “Not my question,” he said. “But I’ll keep it in mind.” He reached into his pocket and took out a small box, dropping to one knee.

Pepper’s hands flew up to her mouth. “Oh my god,” she breathed.

“Pep, darling, light of my life,” he said. “You’re my rock. You’re my world. You’re the one thing I can’t live without. You’ve been by my side since the beginning and you’ve never let me down. I am so hopelessly in love with you, you know that? You’re it for me, Pep. 

“So, Miss Potts,” Tony finished. He looked up at her with a hopeful smile. “Will you marry me?”

And really, there was only one answer that Pepper could give. “Yes!”

**+1.**

Tony watched Pepper walk down the aisle with awe clear on his face. His soon-to-be wife looked absolutely radiant in white lace, her red hair gleaming in the summer sun. Tony felt his heart skip a beat when she drew closer and smiled at him. 

“Pepper,” he breathed, taking in the sight of the love of his life. 

“Close your mouth; you’ll catch flies,” she teased, cheeks flushed. 

Behind them, Happy- shockingly, an ordained minister, though Tony was fairly certain he had bought his credentials online ten minutes before the wedding- began speaking. 

“We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Pepper Potts and Tony Stark,” he announced formally. “I have had the honor of watching their relationship grow over the years, from a grudging tolerance, to a close friendship, and to love. Heroes like them deserve a happy ending; hence, I will  _ not  _ be asking if anyone objects, mostly because I do not care.” 

“Thanks, Happy,” Tony stage-whispered. Pepper giggled in front of him.

“Do you, Tony Stark, take Pepper Potts as your lawfully wedded wife?” recited Happy.

Tony looked Pepper in the eyes. “I do.”

“And do you, Pepper Potts, take Tony Stark as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” Pepper said, voice strong.

“You may now kiss the bride,” said Happy, sounding a little choked up.

Tony was not at all resentful of the fact that he had to tip his face up to kiss his wife in her killer heels, even in his lifts. He was also not crying- anyone who said otherwise was a liar. 

He drew away with the biggest grin on his face. “We’re  _ married _ ,” he told Pepper giddily.

“And they said your genius was exaggerated,” she matched his smile. “I love you, Mr. Potts.”

Tony kissed her again. “I love you, too, Mrs. Stark.”

**Author's Note:**

> thoughts? comments and kudos make my day :)
> 
> yell at me on tumblr [@imposter-human](https://imposter-human.tumblr.com/)


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